Should the dollar bill be replaced with a coin?

This is not a question that I ask, as I myself would be against replacing completely the dollar with a coin, but a question that was asked in a recent Ipsos poll:

No plan to replace bill with dollar coin

An AP-Ipsos poll found that three-fourths of people surveyed oppose replacing the dollar bill, featuring George Washington, with a dollar coin. People are split evenly on the idea of having both a dollar bill and a dollar coin.

The complete article found here.

In the poll itself, which can be found here(PDF), where such questions were asked as:

Dollar Coin Study

1. As you may know, in the past the government has issued one dollar coins. To the best of you [sic] recollection, have you ever used one of these coins to make a purchase, or not?

Yes... 49
No... 51
Not sure... -

and

[Q.2/Q.3 ASKED IN RANDOM ORDER]

2. Would you favor or oppose a new one dollar coin to REPLACE the existing dollar bill?

Favor... 24
Oppose... 74
Not sure... 2

I must say, since reading about the Amero, this poll is the only other time I have read about the speculation of the dollar being replaced. And the conspiracy theorist in me cannot help but wonder if this is just a test of America's attachment to the dollar; albeit a very small group (1,000 individuals). Have there been other instances where coins were considered to replace a bill or paper currency altogether?

And I have to wonder if the attachment is not to the dollar itself, but the convenience of it.

Associated Press: U.S. Mint Director Edmund C. Moy said he was encouraged by the initial demand for the new coin. The Fed has ordered 300 million Washington dollars so far.

Associated Press: As for the Sacagawea dollar, gold in color, millions of the coins also piled up in bank vaults for the same reason: lack of demand. People say they just prefer the traditional greenback.

Fundamentally, I would like to believe that the paper dollar will sustain for a very long time and that coins will remain as a collector's item.

And a little about Ipsos itself:

Ipsos Group SA is a global survey-based market research company headquartered in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded on the Paris Stock Exchange since July 1, 1999. Since 1990, the company has created or acquired more than 40 companies worldwide.

Years ago I believe around 1980 they made the dollar a coin. Similar to the quarter same color and roundness. The difference was it had rough edges on the rim. Alot of people confused the dollar for quarters. I believe most people didn't like them and they quickly stopped making them.

we tried this already with the Sacagawea dollars, too... that didn't take off either.

[edit on 12-2-2007 by The Parallelogram]

I remember those silly things, Shar. I don't know about most people but I reach in my coin purse and 'feel' for quarters, dimes and nickels. They're fairly easy to tell apart. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and I couldn't tell the difference between those dollars and quarters.

What's wrong with the paper dollar?

Yeah, I'm against a coin dollar. My purse is already too heavy!

I don't want coin dollars either. Imagine how hard it would be to carry them instead of paper dollars.

Would they make 5 dollar coins, 20, 50, and 100 dollar coins too?


Paper money

[edit on 12/2/2007 by enjoies05]

Originally posted by The Parallelogram
we tried this already with the Sacagawea dollars, too... that didn't take off either.

Here in Chicago at least, there is what appears to be an attempt at enforced usage.

At the elevated train stations, all the bill changers give these out as change.

Also many bill changers give these out as change in areas where there are many vending machines (that also accept these $1 coins. Both The Susan B Anthony dollars and the Sacagawea dollars), for example my previous work places' lunchroom.

Just a little trivia.

We have had the dollar/2 dollar coins here in Canada for quite some time now. In the beginning, most were opposed as mentioned above, but now its not even a thought.

One of the main reasons (that I can remember), for the paper/coin change-over was the cost factor.

I can't remember the correct numbers but it was along the lines of a circulation life being much greater then that of the paper money.

And of course, it only benefits the government rather than the common folk.

The UK moved from the pound note to the pound coin in 1984 after a 150 years of its use.

BBC News - Quid notes out - pound coins in

A similar outcry was experineced.

We now have a £2 coin which seems to have been accepted without too much fuss.

Coins last longer and with everything increasing in price I expect that most would be carrying larger notes these days.

I dump anything that has a smaller denomination than the 50 pence piece into a large tin which on occasion I exchange for larger denominations, its my belief that there are many people who practice a similar ritual.

Unless we go back to carrying sacks of coins in lieu of wallets, then no it is a dumb idea. I have enough trouble keeping my own change secure (holes in my pockets !!!)

I like the coins. I don't mind them. I don't usually have a lot of money to carry around anyway. I think it's more practical to make $1 coins than the money which gets used quite a bit.

I am against the Amero though.

Isn't this now the third try at getting a dollar coin into wide usage. Past experience shows that most are not going to go for it. Seems like just another way to spend tax money without really benefical results. Guess the coin collectors need more coins.

Have I missed something or is this just a waste?

The cost of keeping dollar bills in circulation is very high as they are traded frequently and have a very short lifespan (less than 2 years). A dollar coin's average lifespan is estimated to be around 20 years since coins are much more durable. Plus, the U.S. Treasury keeps the profit from minting coins, while the Federal Reserve System keeps any profit from its notes.

Originally posted by Mechanic 32
Here in Chicago at least, there is what appears to be an attempt at enforced usage.

At the elevated train stations, all the bill changers give these out as change.

Also many bill changers give these out as change in areas where there are many vending machines (that also accept these $1 coins. Both The Susan B Anthony dollars and the Sacagawea dollars), for example my previous work places' lunchroom.

Just a little trivia.

If you like the Sacagawea coins you can always get a bunch of them by putting a $20 into a US Postal Machine and buy one stamp and push the change button. Everywhere I've been those machines kick out the sacagawea coin as part of the change.

I wouldn't mind if they replaced the dollar with a coin ... it lasts longer anyways. And since all my coins end up in the change jar at the end of the day I'm guessing it would fluff up my sons savings account nicely. I rarely use cash anymore since it's just so easy to slide the debit card everywhere. About the only time I have cash on me is when we are travelling, just as a backup.

When we were up in Canada their dollar was a coin and we got used to it fairly quickly. But it was easy to forget that those "loonies" were actual money and not pocket change. After a week we had a large pile and realized we should be using them instead of collecting them with the other coins. It also felt kind strange leaving a handful of coins as a tip at lunch!

Well if they replace the dollar bills the S.M.S.U. (Single.Mom.Stripper.Union.) will be filing lawsuite left and right on behalf of injured strippers by patrons tossing money at them. Think of all the eye's they will be put out?

Originally posted by tsloan
Well if they replace the dollar bills the S.M.S.U. (Single.Mom.Stripper.Union.) will be filing lawsuite left and right on behalf of injured strippers by patrons tossing money at them. Think of all the eye's they will be put out?

Actually, you will be quite surprised on that... the ingenuity and games they have come up with to cope with the loonie are ingenius... of course this is a family board and I won't get into any details, but from this perspective, you will appreciate the change to the dollar coin...

Given the overwhelming lack of success of the current $1 coins, my guess is that they would not move to eliminate the Dollar bill entirely. Actually, the US treasury has eluded to the fact that they could eventually eliminate all small denomination US coinage altogether (1 cent). This is due to rising costs of raw materials which in turn costs the government more to make the coins than what they are actually worth. Many people have been taking loose change, melting it down, and selling it to scrap yards to make more money.

Crazy stuff.

en.wikipedia.org...

www.gold-eagle.com...

A bit off topic but save opening a new topic......

How do you guy cope with that pyramid thing staring you in the face everytime you open your wallet?

There is something nice about paper. It's flat, it's light. But I know a coin would be more durable, like others have mentioned.

I have carried very little real money as of late. I have used my bank card. That's about the most handy money there is.

Troy

From what I understand, these new dollar coins are going to be a series of all the presidents, similar to the state quarter series that is running right now.

So, I think the US. mint is trying a different approach at pushing a new dollar coin, pleasing collectors, and common folk alike.

I know alot of people have been collectiong the state quarters to complete the series, and I'm sure those same folks will do the same with the dollar coin series.

As a matter of fact, I know at our C.U. you can buy the individual state P&D quarter sets for $3.50 a set, so there's money to be made off series coins.

Although I highly doubt they will replace the greenback anytime soon, so IMO, I think it's just a marketing ploy because of the high popularity of the state quarter series.

That's my .02 zincs,.... LOL

Later,...Ausable_Bill

Originally posted by roadgravel
Isn't this now the third try at getting a dollar coin into wide usage. Past experience shows that most are not going to go for it. Seems like just another way to spend tax money without really benefical results. Guess the coin collectors need more coins.

Have I missed something or is this just a waste?

Nope, this will be at least the 4th try. The 1st try had a man on it, the second and third had women on them, and this will have men on it.